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hirty-one years ago a group of young, and not so young, journalists gathered in a muggy room to put together what would the next day be Indonesia'€™s third English-language daily in circulation. Few probably gave them hope, even fewer still could foresee the scale of achievement their groundwork would lead to three decades later.

They banded together for an assortment of practical reasons. But guiding them was a single vision: to publish the best possible quality English-language daily befitting a country rising as one of the major players in Asia and the world.

For many years, because of its language, The Jakarta Post was looked down upon as being an expatriate daily that catered to foreigners who only had a fleeting presence in Indonesia.

Nevertheless, with the bold commitment of successive editors and the loyalty of an editorial staff, the Post became a beacon of sanity amid the dogma of the New Order era. It criticized religious chauvinism, promoted civil rights and duly tried to unbind the shackles restricting the fourth estate.

Today, the descendants of our pioneers continue the same tradition and love of mission and journalism, albeit in a more comfy 21st century edifice.

If we were to dissect the core of our growth over the three decades, we would say that it comes down to three things: foremost is honesty. Many may scoff at the mention of this word in our editorial while quickly pointing out our mistakes and flaws.

Yes, the Post has made its share of mistakes. But more importantly we have never shied away from correcting them, nor averted our responsibilities in accordance with the journalists'€™ code of ethics. We strongly believe that the character of a publication is not the mistakes that it makes but its ability to admit, learn and correct them.

Furthermore, any missteps have been honest ones. Never has our editorial content been written with malice or the intent to inflict injury. A belief in public interest reigns supreme.

The second aspect is integrity. The Post is proud to proclaim itself an independent paper in its editorial thinking. Free from the sway of big business or political interest.

We are not a neutral institution. The values of a humane civil society make it impossible not to propagate views that support such ideas. But never do we intend to fail the test of objectivity.

Third, and no less important, is the loyalty of our readers. We do not believe our link with you is one based on a clientele relationship. Our association over three decades is primarily based on a mutual trust for the advancement of common values from a voice of reason.

We cannot survive without that bond. We would not be the Post without your presence.

So as we celebrate this turn of age, we bow to your support and heartfelt trust in us. May we always serve you well.